King Jali’ad of and His Wazir Shimas; Followed by the History of King Wird Khan, Son of King Jali’ad, With His Women and Wazirs. [Fn#55]

There was once in days of yore and in ages and times long gone
before, in the land of Hind, a mighty King, tall of presence and
fair of favour and goodly of parts, noble of nature and generous,
beneficent to the poor and loving to his lieges and all the
people of his realm. His name was Jalí’ád and under his hand were
two-and-seventy Kings and in his cities three hundred and fifty
Kazis. He had three score and ten Wazirs and over every ten of
them he set a premier. The chiefest of all his ministers was a
man called Shimás [FN#56] who was then [FN#57] two and twenty years
old, a statesman of pleasant presence and noble nature, sweet of
speech and ready in reply; shrewd in all manner of business,
skilful withal and sagacious for all his tender age, a man of
good counsel and fine manners versed in all arts and sciences and
accomplishments; and the King loved him with exceeding love and
cherished him by reason of his proficiency in eloquence and
rhetoric and the art of government and for that which Allah had
given him of compassion and brooding care [FN#58] with his lieges
for he was a King just in his Kingship and a protector of his
peoples, constant in beneficence to great and small and giving
them that which befitted them of good governance and bounty and
protection and security and a lightener of their loads in taxes
and tithes. And indeed he was loving to them each and every, high
and low, entreating them with kindness and solicitude and
governing them in such goodly guise as none had done before him.
But, with all this, Almighty Allah had not blessed him with a
child, and this was grievous to him and to the people of his
reign. It chanced, one night, as Jali’ad [FN#59] lay in his bed,
occupied with anxious thought of the issue of the affair of his
Kingdom, that sleep overcame him and he dreamt that he poured
water upon the roots of a tree,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundredth Night,

She continued: It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
King saw himself in his vision pouring water upon the roots of a
tree, about which were many other trees; and lo and behold! there
came fire out of this tree and burnt up every growth which
encompassed it; whereupon Jali’ad awoke affrighted and trembling,
and calling one of his pages said to him, "Go fetch the Wazir
Shimas in all haste." So he betook himself to Shimas and said to
him, "The King calleth for thee forthright because he hath awoke
from his sleep in fright and hath sent me to bring thee to him in
haste." When Shimas heard this, he arose without stay or delay
and going to the King, found him seated on his bed. He prostrated
himself before him, wishing him permanence of glory and
prosperity, and said, "May Allah not cause thee grieve, O King!
What hath troubled thee this night, and what is the cause of thy
seeking me thus in haste?" The King bade him be seated; and, as
soon as he sat down, began telling his tale and said to him, "I
have dreamt this night a dream which terrified me, and ’twas,
that methought I poured water upon the roots of a tree where
about were many other trees and as I was thus engaged, lo and
behold! fire issued therefrom and burnt up all the growths that
were around it; wherefore I was affrighted and fear took me. Then
I awoke and sent to bid thee to me, because of thy knowledge and
skill in the interpretation of dreams and of that which I know of
the vastness of thy wisdom and the greatness of thine
understanding." At this Shimas the Wazir bowed his head
groundwards awhile and presently raising it, smiled; so the King
said to him, "What deemest thou, O Shimas? Tell me the truth of
the matter and hide naught from me." Answered Shimas, "O King,
verily Allah Almighty granteth thee thy wish and cooleth thine
eyes; for the matter of this dream presageth all good, to wit,
that the Lord will bless thee with a son, who shall inherit the
Kingdom from thee, after thy long life. But there is somewhat
else I desire not to expound at this present, seeing that the
time is not favourable for interpretation." The King rejoiced in
these words with exceeding joy and great was his contentment; his
trouble departed from him, his mind was at rest and he said, "If
the case be thus of the happy presage of my dream, do thou
complete to me its exposition when the fitting time betideth: for
that which it behoveth not to expound to me now, it behoveth that
thou expound to me when its time cometh, so my joy may be
fulfilled, because I seek naught in this save the approof of
Allah extolled and exalted be He!" Now when the Wazir Shimas saw
that the King was urgent to have the rest of the exposition, he
put him off with a pretext; but Jali’ad assembled all the
astrologers and interpreters of dreams of his realm and as soon
as they were in the presence related to them his vision, saying,
"I desire you to tell me the true interpretation of this."
Whereupon one of them came forward and craved the King’s
permission to speak, which being granted, he said, "Know, O King,
that thy Wazir Shimas is nowise unable to interpret this thy
dream; but he shrank from troubling thy repose. Wherefore he
disclosed not unto thee the whole thereof; but, an thou suffer me
to speak, I will expose to thee that which he concealed from
thee." The King replied, "Speak without respect for persons, O
interpreter, and be truthful in thy speech." The interpreter
said, "Know then, O King, that there will be born to thee a boy
child who shall inherit the Kingship from thee, after thy long
life; but he shall not order himself towards the lieges after thy
fashion; nay, he shall transgress thine ordinances and oppress
thy subjects, and there shall befal him what befel the Mouse with
the Cat [FN#60]; and I seek refuge with Almighty Allah [FN#61]!"
The King asked, "But what is the story of the Cat and the
Mouse?"; and the interpreter answered "May Allah prolong the
King’s life! They tell the following tale of